


a home for every heart (build it day by day)

by Grassy



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Matchington Mansion (Video Game), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkwardness, Ereriminibang2k19, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Minor Furlan Church/Isabel Magnolia, Minor Kenny Ackerman/Uri Reiss, Minor Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Mutual Pining, Romance, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-07-27 14:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20047672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grassy/pseuds/Grassy
Summary: When Levi inherited everything his uncle had owned—everything that was on the books, at least—he’d planned to either sell or donate the mansion as-is to whomever was willing to take it off his hands.  Until he met Eren, the local carpenter.…Levi supposed it couldn’t hurt to stick around for awhile, maybe make certain the property wasn’t some kind of death trap or something.





	a home for every heart (build it day by day)

**Author's Note:**

> Yep, a _Matchington Mansion_ AU, since it's one of my absolute favorite mobile games. The title comes from the lyrics of "Home Is The Heart" by Janis Ian.
> 
> Everyone, go check out the awesome art my Mini Bang partner Merrique (@[then-it-went-boom](https://then-it-went-boom.tumblr.com/)) did for this [on tumblr](https://then-it-went-boom.tumblr.com/post/186821579849/this-is-the-painting-for-the-minibang-for) as well as the very end of the fic. ♥

### The Mansion

Levi knew of the mansion, sort of. His mother had said some things over the years, though she’d only ever been there once, herself. Considering the state of the place even then, Kuchel hadn’t been overly impressed despite its ridiculous size. But it was one of the properties Uri inherited from his father and, for whatever reason, had been where Uri wanted to spend his final days. So, as he often chose to, Kenny did as Uri wanted.

Then after his husband finally passed, Kenny hadn’t even bothered to stick around long enough and torch the place.

Which, truth be told, Levi was positive his mother had found _that_ more shocking than anything. Though neither of them had ever expected Kenny to leave the place—along with all his other known assets—to Levi once he croaked.

Sure, he’d helped them out a great deal over the years. Kenny had taught Levi how to not get himself either caught or killed while getting up to no good as a kid. He’d bought the shitty club Kuchel had stripped in after the owner had “disappeared,” then handed it over to her to do whatever she wanted with it. Even Isabel, whose father left her behind when he quite literally ran off after Kuchel pulled a butcher knife on the asshole for taking his hands to her kids; Kenny’d dealt with all the “legalities” involved in making sure Kuchel was her mother so far as anyone else was concerned.

Kenny had been a murderous, criminal bastard and only intermittently reliable. So him finally kicking the bucket wasn’t a shocker in the least. But they’d expected that everything would be turned over to one or more of his people; maybe some of it to Kuchel, if anyone. And while there had to be a shitton of off-the-books things that went to said subordinates, everything that couldn’t be proved illegal? Had become Levi’s.

How the hell would he even manage to _spend_ all that money? Levi’d never had access to such a disgustingly exorbitant amount of wealth before. Even the times he’d contemplated getting a sugar daddy to help him through school, Levi hadn’t been so ridiculous as to dream of something so…

On second thought, it _was_ just like Kenny to pull something like that—because he’d have known that it would _fuck with Levi’s head_. Even dead and buried, the man still managed to be a dick.

* * *

“So what’re you even planning on doing with this place?”

Isabel walked backwards, head tilted back to take in just how fucking huge the mansion was. Kinda gross and rundown, but not quite to the cool kind of creepy like the Addams Family’s or even the horror movie level of Definitely Has Ghosts And Bodies In The Walls Murdered By Previous Serial Killing Occupants (Who May Or May Not Have Been Kenny).

Despite how big they were, at her distance Isabel could barely see through the dirty windows; large, randomly-shaped blobs of what she was pretty sure had to be furniture covered by dust-cloths. Even without looking at her brother, Isabel knew exactly the sneer he’d have at the sight of it. Levi would _lose his damn mind_ actually going into the place.

…though she wasn’t quite sure if it’d be from his dismay at such filth or from joy at having so many new things to clean. It could go either way, honestly.

“Sell it, maybe. Or just donate it to…someplace. I really haven’t thought beyond getting it off my hands so far.”

Boring~! But, that was Levi, especially when it had to do with his inheritance from Kenny.

“Hmm… Well, you could always go completely over the top—fix it up and take in every stray cat you can find. Be your own _Neko Atsume_.”

Isabel spun around to face him with a grin, tongue tip between her teeth. She reveled in his glare, it was the one that meant he’d be rolling his eyes but didn’t want to encourage her. Hah, really, he should have learned better after so many years.

“I don’t need that many cats, Izzy.”

“Yes, but do you _want_ that many cats—especially since you’re, like, a millionaire now.”

Most people would assume Levi’s expression to have only deepened in annoyance, but Isabel knew her brother—that look in his eyes was shifty as hell. He totally wanted to be the neighborhood crazy cat guy. And in a huge-ass place where he could devote his life to cleaning up after All The Cats, not needing to worry about money? He’d probably had literal dreams about that kind of thing. She definitely had. (And, no, this wasn’t Isabel wanting to live vicariously through Levi. Much. Though she’d want a variety of animals rather than just cats.)

“…there’s probably a limit to how many cats one can privately own.”

“That’s not a denial, big bro.”

“Shut up, Izzy.”

“Seriously, though.” Isabel smacked the back of her hand against Levi’s chest. “Have you considered making it a cat sanctuary or something, then? Or, I dunno—in a weird-ass place like this where everyone seems to live in a mansion, maybe they don’t bother with those kind of ordinances because _money_.

“Just something to think about,” she added, before running up the front steps to peer up close through the front doors’ dirty windows.

Levi considered following, but the sound of an approaching vehicle caught his attention. Hopefully, that was Mikasa’s friend, Eren, who’d been left with the property keys while Mikasa was in Japan visiting her parents. Though, with his and Izzy’s combined luck, it’d be a nosy “neighbor” wanting to chat.

The truck being parked in the drive as Levi made his way down the steps wasn’t new—not that Levi cared overmuch about vehicles, beyond running reliably and a clean interior—but seemed well taken care of, despite the coat of road dust, and matched Mikasa’s description of Eren’s ride.

Of much more pertinent interest to Levi were the long legs slung out of the cab, clad in blue jeans worn white at the stress points. And a pair of thighs that could crush Levi’s head were he ever blessed to be between them.

That. That couldn’t be Eren. True, the last picture he’d seen of Mikasa’s friend was as a teenager, but. Wow. Apparently the guy was a late bloomer. Levi was torn—because _nice_, but also _not fair_.

Especially when Eren flicked the hair not pulled up back over his shoulders and shot Levi a bright smile.

If real life had been one of Farlan’s favored anime, that would have been the moment an arrow struck Levi’s heart.

_Fuck_.

“Hey, you’re Levi, right? I’m Eren, Eren Yeager.”

The large hand that shook Levi’s was work-callused and warm and Levi determinedly shoved aside Those Thoughts so as to not come across as a creepy asshole.

“Yeah, I’m Levi. And that’s my sister, Isabel.”

“Heya,” Izzy chirped with a wave.

“Nice to meet you both. Mikasa wanted me to apologize for her not being here, but her trip was planned months ago, so.”

Incredulous, Levi frowned. “That is not what she said.”

“...yeah, okay, no,” Eren admitted, sheepish. “What she actually told me was to tell Isabel she was sorry, but that you could suck it up and deal.” 

“Better.” Levi filed away the adorable quirk of a smile that somehow made Eren _even more_ attractive to think on later.

“Here.” Eren offered Levi a sealed manila envelope he’d grabbed off his dash. “This has the keys, as well as papers letting you know who to contact if there’s anything you want to know—whether you plan to get rid of the place or renovate or whatever.”

“Thanks.”

“My card’s in there, too, if you need a carpenter or whatever. I also put my cell number on the back just in case, since Mikasa isn’t here. Oh!”

Eren reached back into the truck, rummaging through the center console before he handed Levi another card.

“I dunno if this one’s already in there or not, but if you do decide to go through everything, Historia’ll let you know if any of it the Reiss family’s willing to buy back—she’s one of Rod’s daughters—or if she’ll take it herself, or maybe you should try your luck elsewhere.”

“Friend of yours,” Isabel cooed questioningly with a toothy grin, unsubtly fishing for info. Which meant she definitely had interpreted all the things Levi was studiously Not Thinking About, despite his resting murder face.

“Umm, not. Not like that?” Eren awkwardly tugged on a loose lock of hair that’d made its way back over his shoulder. “Her girlfriend can be overprotective. Violently so,” he muttered with a grimace.

Levi pinched Isabel’s arm lightly, but hard enough to sting. “Don’t be a dick, Izzy. Sorry about her.”

“No, no. It happens.”

“No, Levi’s right. I’m sorry.” She tugged at her pigtails with a rueful grin. “I dunno how to not run my mouth sometimes.”

Visibly relaxing, Eren smiled back. “Yeah, I’m intimately familiar with that myself. It-”

The sudden wail of sirens had him scrambling back into the truck cab—half hanging out, legs and butt just _there_ for the viewing pleasure—before the noise came to an abrupt stop.

“Shit, sorry about that. I forgot about the alarm I set myself so I wouldn’t be late for meeting a client.” He slid back onto his feet, ruefully waving his phone at them.

“It’s fine.” Though Levi’s ears didn’t agree. “Need to get going?”

“Yeah, sorry again. I’ll...be seeing you, I guess?”

“Probably.”

The smile that lit up Eren’s face was blinding.

“Good. Later, then!” He nodded at them both before hopping properly back into the truck.

Finally looking away once Eren had driven off, Levi could feel the weight of Izzy’s narrow stare as she bit back her laughter. He carefully undid the tabs and slid the business card into the envelope with everything else, making sure nothing fell out as he grabbed the keys.

“So.”

“So,” she echoed.

He finally met her gaze.

“_Neko Atsume_, huh.”

Levi allowed himself the near-painful eye roll as Isabel collapsed dramatically upon the overgrown grass, wheezing with laughter.

Ugh, sisters. Always having to be annoying little shits.

### Foyer

Levi raised a brow at Eren’s wide-eyed, lip-biting look of excitement as he entered the front doors.

“Eager?”

“_Yesss_. You’ve no idea how many years I’ve wanted to get a look at the inside of this place.” He spun around, eyes darting to-and-fro as he did his best to take in absolutely everything.

“What, you never broke in as a kid?” Levi certainly would have, but he also hadn’t cared overmuch about laws back then unless there was a good chance he’d be caught.

“I would’ve,” Eren admitted, “but every time I considered it, Mikasa and Armin always seemed to _know_. And it’s hard to win against both of them together; I’ve only ever managed a handful of times and we’ve been tight since pre-school.”

Armin…right. The blond of their trio, who he’d never seen a picture of without the guy having at least one book in hand. Granted, Levi’d only seen a few pictures of any of them barring Mikasa, but still.

“Well. Feel free to explore now.” Levi gestured at the somewhat—_barely_, to his exacting standards—clean front room. At least he no longer felt the need to shower after simply walking through it. “Besides, I need to know if it’s worth saving or I should just start over completely.”

“Trust me, it’ll be my pleasure. Have any ideas yet what you wanna do with it? Sell it off, turn it into a hotel, open a brothel…” Eren aimed a playful smirk at Levi. “I’m just curious.”

“Izzy suggested I turn it into a cat rescue.” Among other things, but Levi wasn’t planning to advertise the types of phone games he enjoyed so early on in their acquaintance.

“You’ve definitely got the space for it. Big cats or domestic,” he asked, meandering into the living room while jotting something into his pocket notebook. “And are you okay with me taking pictures as we go along? It’s not necessary, it just helps me remember better.”

“Domestic. And go right ahead.”

“Nice~” Eren fumbled a bit, notebook and pen shoved into one back pocket as he pulled his phone from the other; adjusting a few settings in the app before snapping away.

“Granted, who knows if it’ll even happen. There’s likely a shitton of things involved in doing something like that, and I haven’t had the time to even look into what they might be. Right now I’m just focused on making sure it’s not a death trap.”

“Probably a good place to start. So…you like cats, I’m assuming. Have any yourself already?”

“Ah.” Levi froze a second, before shaking it off. “No, not for a couple of years. Since my last one passed away.”

Eren rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, embarrassed. Him and his foot-in-mouth disease…

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“No. No, it’s okay. I would’ve adopted another one by now, but things have never quite seemed to work out. And now, this.” Levi gestured at the house around them.

“Yeah, it could be some time before this place is safe for a pet. And, well,” Eren smiled brightly, “in the meantime I can hook you up, if you’re ever in dire need of cat time.”

“Oh?” A dark brow arched at the offer. “How so?”

“I have a friend that fosters cats. And, uh, I have a couple of my own. We do playdates, sometimes.”

Years of instinct saw Eren swiping at his phone, pulling up the latest picture in the M2 folder of a black cat curled atop a folded stack of white towels. “That’s Missy—Miss Mess—and…” He swiped back to one of an orange mass of fur sprawled belly up. “That’s Mac.”

Trying to hold back a smile—because both hot _and_ adorable cat dad!—Levi leaned in closer to swipe back and forth between the two pictures. Eren leaned in closer, rather than pulling away, so Levi ignored a pang of worry over being too pushy.

“Mac? Is that short for something, too?”

“Umm…” Eren, both his gaze and his body, slid away from Levi. “Just saying, it wasn’t my idea.”

“Ohh~?”

Eren met Levi’s eyes with a grimace. “…Cheesy Macaroni.”

Try as he might to refrain, Levi couldn’t help the obvious look of judgement that settled on his face.

“Look, there was this kid I used to babysit years ago; his family found Mac as a kitten and were the ones to give him the name. By the time I ended up bringing him home, it had pretty much stuck. Mac seemed to be a good compromise, since it’s something he ‘answers’ to.”

“I guess I can’t say much, either.” Levi shrugged at Eren’s look as he slid his phone back into Those Jeans. “I called my first cat Gooey, because I made the mistake of letting Mom and Izzy help name him.”

“‘Gooey’? _Really_?”

Eren held up his small notebook to ward off Levi’s approaching hand, fingers ready and waiting to flick whatever they could. Levi rolled his eyes as he flicked the notebook instead of Eren.

“It was better than some of the alternatives, considering they decided to name him Lugubrious. You kind of had to be there.”

Levi completely understood the confused squint; he’d reacted much the same way when Mom and Izzy had flicked randomly through a dictionary, waiting for the cat to react to _something_ they said. Honestly, he was still mostly certain Kuchel had cheated somehow.

Luckily, he’d managed to keep them out of the naming process for all of his subsequent cats. So, despite the occasional stupid nickname they’d give their furry family members, at least their actual names hadn’t been like poor Gooey’s.

“Ohhhkay, then.” Eren shrugged it off, making a few more notes before taking one last look around the room. “So. Any suggestions on which room should we check out next, or are we just winging it?”

“Hey, you’re the expert. I’m just tagging along.” After all, it was both informative and he got to spend time with a very attractive man. Win-win.

“Cool, winging it it is.” Eren looked longingly up the grand staircase before turning away. “We’ll cover everywhere on this floor first, then.”

Levi swept an arm dramatically. “After you.”

Laughing, Eren wandered down the hall that led to the study and library.

Damn, but that smile and laugh made Levi want to cause it more. Which could be a problem, considering Levi was his client and all. Being attracted was one thing, but…

Levi followed along after Eren, shoving down yet more thoughts of the too-interesting man in favor of dealing with them later. There was work to be done before anything else could even be considered.

### Interlude: Armin

It wasn’t the first—nor, Armin was certain, would it be the last—time Eren had breezed into his shop, sparkly-eyed and beaming. What made it notable was how Eren’s teeth dug deeply into his lower lip, as though to keep himself from squealing aloud.

_Shit_.

Armin kept up his Customer Service smile with the ease of experience as he finished handling the teenager and their stack of discount manga. Once they left, Eren abandoned looking idly through bookmarks and keychains to cross his arms on the counter. He leaned in close, forcing Armin to pay him his full attention. Just the way Eren’s cat children so often did, who would usually have been the reason behind Eren’s giddiness.

Unfortunately, Armin knew his best friend better than that. And even more unfortunately, past precedent indicated that did not bode good things.

“So who’s caught your eye now and will it involve property damage and a restraining order this time around as well?”

“Aaaarrmiiiinn. Armin, _no_, it’s not like that. Well.” Brow furrowed, Eren shrugged. “Property damage might be a thing, but not like _that_.”

“Alright, I’m listening.” And biting back a sigh, because _Eren_.

“Okay, so, first off. Nothing’s gonna happen for…a long while, if ever.”

Ahh. “Client, then?”

“Ugh. Yes. And you know I don’t do that with clients; I learned better way back when Hannes still used me for unpaid labor.”

Which they had all, at some point, thanked Carla for throwing Eren at Hannes all those years ago in the hope that laborious scut work would keep Eren’s attention away from fighting. The results had been somewhat mixed, but everyone considered it a win since Eren’s fights thereafter tended to not be nearly so frequent nor so violent. Except with Jean, but no one ever expected otherwise there.

“But! On the upside, I finally got to go inside the old Reiss mansion~!”

Well, at least he’d _finally_ stop complaining about-

Wait. That…belonged to Mikasa’s cousin now, right?

“Didn’t Mikasa say her cousin would be getting rid of the place? I wonder why he changed his mind. Unless he’s wanting to sell for a better price…”

“His sister talked him into keeping it, apparently.”

Which, considering Eren and Mikasa were the closest Armin had to siblings, he could totally see. And, much as Armin hated to admit it, he’d also been so very curious about the Reiss mansion. But as they had intimate knowledge of Eren’s brand of luck, Armin and Mikasa both vetoed Eren from going into the place either with or without permission. Not that they had that excuse anymore, being adults and all, especially as it was literally Eren’s _job_ now.

Besides. Armin would be grateful for the opportunity granted to sate his own curiosity about the mansion, long overruled by his survival instincts.

“…so what’s it like?”

“Ohhh my God, Armin, you would not _believe_. I’d show you the pictures, but. Yeah, no. _Still_~”

Armin allowed himself to focus on the gleeful burble of words spilling from his best friend, ignoring for the moment that Eren was rather blatantly interested in Mikasa’s cousin. He’d deal with that once Mikasa returned from visiting her parents and found out herself. Either she’d object, loudly and violently, or she’d enthusiastically approve of Eren officially becoming part of her family…also violently, though probably less loud and more sneaky.

In either case, Armin still had some time before that became an issue.

### Library

For all the things that needed to be repaired or replaced in the mansion, Levi was glad that it was at least inhabitable. Despite now having the money for it, he really hadn’t wanted to pay rent on some other place for however long it’d take to get the property to that point.

Between what they’d already taken or been sent from their apartment and things found around the mansion—durable enough, if in need of a good cleaning, to last while Levi and Isabel needed them—they could make do. Granted, they were each sleeping on the futon couches they’d had for years, but those were preferable to the old, likely bug-infested mattresses that had already been there.

Even if they had been serviceable—not that it was likely, but Levi really didn’t care one way or the other—who knew what might have happened on those things. _Kenny_ had lived there, after all. Besides, Levi didn’t see the point of replacing them until after the bedrooms had been fixed and he had a clearer idea of what he wanted done. There were a _lot_ of bedrooms, too, though he and Isabel had already decided which they each wanted and would be of priority.

In the meantime, Levi spent his days—when not going over plans for the house with Eren, or making sure he and Izzy wouldn’t be in Eren’s (or his crew’s) way for the day, or cleaning up once Eren (and his crew) had finished with an area—sorting through rooms and deciding what to pitch or sell or keep.

Levi could well do without the memories of going through the cellar. As well as the attic. Just. Brain bleach, why wasn’t it really a thing?

The library, though… It was creepy, sure, but no more so than the majority of the mansion. Its main issue was being musty from lack of cleaning and a shitton of old books piled around randomly. None of which interested either Levi or Isabel, though they had set aside a few to keep at Farlan’s request.

Looking at the very, very large number of books still remaining, Levi sighed deeply.

“I didn’t think there’d be this many to deal with. In good enough condition, that is.”

“Mhm,” Isabel mumbled, hair tie held between her teeth as she pulled a pigtail back together after finally getting all the webbing out of it.

Fucking spiders. _No thanks_.

“And with everything else so far, we might wanna have what’s-her-name, that Eren told us about, come over here instead of dropping stuff off.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “And probably Armin, too, considering all of the books.”

He’d hoped to wait until they’d organized everything, but stuff just kept on piling up. Seemed like every time he looked away then back, it’d increased yet again.

“I’ll give them each a call once I dig out their cards.” Luckily, Eren had given him…Victoria? Whatever the name of Uri’s niece was, Mikasa hadn’t added her card to the folder Eren had passed over that first day along with the keys. Armin’s, unsurprisingly, had been.

Hopefully between the two of them he could get rid of this shit. After all, even if the Reiss family didn’t want any of it, though he couldn’t remember her name Levi did remember that she owned some sort of antique store? She’d probably know how to get rid of it even if she didn’t take anything or know of anyone that would.

Though after those calls…

* * *

Eren was glad to be on his lunch break, stretched out on the tailgate of his truck and enjoying the breeze.

Even better than said breeze was the sight of Levi making his way determinedly toward Eren. Worn out jeans and a tank, faded by too many washings from black to grey, that somehow showed more than it covered to great effect. Eren was proud of his body, but what he could see of Levi’s abs rivaled _Mikasa’s_.

Was it something in the Ackerman family?

“Need something?” Eren took a swig from his open water bottle, ignoring the annoying voice in his head that sounded like Jean snarking about _thirst_.

“Nothing much, just wanted to check that having some people look at things in the house wouldn’t be getting in the way or anything.”

“Doubt they would, depending on who and where.”

“Ah, I called your friend Armin to look at the stuff in the library we’re not keeping.”

Ohh, Armin was going to nerd-gasm, Eren just knew it. And secretly lord it over Mikasa that he’d been inside, too, leaving her the odd one out.

“And there’s a bunch of stuff for Historia to take a look at.”

Eren barked out a laugh, fumbling as he replaced the cap on his water.

“Should be fun to watch that cat fight.”

“Do…they not get along or something?”

“No, no,” liquid sloshed as Eren gestured his denial, “they get along in personal matters just fine. But with all those books, if they both are interested in the same one, well. They can both be vicious as hell.”

Eren was lucky to not be the one bearing scars from the last time that happened, though Reiner always seemed oddly proud of them.

“Eh, so long as they destroy stuff I don’t plan to keep, I wouldn’t say no to a bit of excitement around here.”

He couldn’t quite tell if Levi was being truthful or joking, though Eren was leaning toward somewhere in between. He still had a way to go in learning to read Levi.

“Their collateral damage runs more toward human casualties than inanimate objects, though sometimes the former leads to the latter.”

“Good to know.”

“In the meantime…” Eren patted the empty space to the left of where he sat. “Wanna enjoy the breeze with me or do you need to head back in already?”

“I…suppose I could stick around a bit longer. That way I’ll be less tempted to shove Izzy into a packing box and ship her back to Mom and Farlan,” he added, settling close enough that Eren could feel the heat of Levi’s body despite not actually being in physical contact.

“Farlan? I think I’ve heard you two mention that name before.”

“Mmm, probably. We’ve been hanging out since long before we were ever friends. And eventually Izzy’ll figure out what he’s being too chickenshit to say, so he’ll be family at some point.”

Shoving down the spark of relief that the mysterious Farlan wasn’t Levi’s lover or anything—seriously, Eren, we _talked_ about what you _don’t do_ with clients!—Eren settled on his back to watch the clouds pass by.

And if he saw more of how the wind fluttered pitch-black hair and slow trails of sweat traveling down pale skin than the actual clouds? No one could prove it.

### Interlude: Historia

Historia had expected Ymir’s grumbling at her unexpected overtime; knew it was mostly just Ymir being Ymir. The silent, searching look her partner gave Historia instead…

“Something wrong?”

Ymir shook her head, dark hair falling a bit more from the clip restraining it, a lopsided smile spreading wildly across her face.

“Nope. Just didn’t expect you to be so sparkly.”

“The hell does that mean?” Much as Historia loved her, Ymir enjoyed being an asshole. Especially an incomprehensible one.

Despite her own practiced, customer service persona, Historia was similar—one among the many things they had in common.

“It means you look like you’re still at work. Only honest about it.”

Historia rolled her eyes. So much snark just to say she looked happy. Granted, it _had_ been a good day, despite customers being customers.

“I had the chance to check out the mansion Uri inherited. Well, I suppose it’s Uri’s nephew’s now, but still.” That’s how Historia had referred to it for most of her life, so whatever. As long as she got it right while talking to the man or his sister it wouldn’t matter.

She flopped down onto the couch next to Ymir, shoes kicked off to curl socked feet up beside her. Ymir’s arm wrapped around her, letting Historia cuddle in closer until she was comfy.

“Anything interesting to be found in there?”

“Mhmm. Gonna have to fight Armin over some of the books, though.”

“Eh, you can take him.”

“I know.” Though it generally came down to who interfered and occasionally their surroundings. Besides, “I’d rather not have Mikasa murder me when she gets back, though.”

Historia enjoyed the way Ymir’s laugh purred through her chest. Honestly, if she didn’t enjoy her work so much—despite the necessary bullshit that was customer service—she’d just stay like this all day, every day.

“On the plus side,” Historia added, a smug lilt to her voice, “I found out Eren’s gone ass-over-teakettle for Levi—Uri’s nephew.”

“Ohh, this should be fun to watch.”

Considering the disastrous nature of Eren’s dating history and all, Historia was in complete agreement.

“Especially since Levi seems to be just as bad off, if better about hiding it with resting bitch face.” Watching the two of them stumble around doing their best to remain professional, despite brightening up like floodlights whenever they caught sight of each other, was both hilarious and pathetic.

If nothing else, it’d make for excellent blackmail material in the future.

### Kitchen

Eren couldn’t keep the pained whine from escaping his throat as he took in the sheer _everything_ not right in the kitchen.

Water. Water every_fucking_where. Granted, it was more multiple puddles forming a not-so-small pool rather than actual flooding, but still.

“_What?!_” Eren knew the look he shot Levi was very _???!!?!_ but honestly. _Honestly_. What the fuck _even_?

Even for Levi’s resting murder face, his expression was… Yeah, it was definitely more on the terrifying side of things than the usual scary-but-sexy. And, for once, Eren was not jealous of the grip Levi’s hands had on the wet/dry vacuum.

“Izzy. She tried to fix...something to do with the faucet, I didn’t really catch the specifics whilst attempting to _not murder her_.” His grip tightened even further, audibly straining the vacuum’s hose.

“Ah. Yeah, that… That makes sense.” One of the many things Eren had learned since beginning this project was that, awesome as she could so often be, Isabel was just as much of a disaster in a multitude of ways.

Unfortunately, that had also led to a number of emergency delays during the restoration work.

Though, luckily, few Isabel-related mishaps were quite so bad as _this_ one. Considering how late in the day it already was Eren hoped he wouldn’t need to call in any of his crew for backup.

“I already turned off the water, but beyond that and cleaning up the remaining mess…” Levi shrugged, “That’s what I called you in for.”

“Understood.”

Retying his hair up into a quick, messy bun, Eren tried to avoid tracking water everywhere as he made his way to the sink. Determinedly ignoring the image of Levi, currently; grey eyes bright with rage and dark clothes sticking wetly to him in very distracting ways. That, that Eren would think more on later, once he’d dealt with Izzy’s latest mess. And considering he’d hoped to already be curled up on his couch under blankets and cats, Eren definitely needed something good to look forward to.

* * *

With one last, intense inspection and triple checking placement of the floor fans, Eren finally declared the emergency over.

“We’ll need to check for leakage issues everywhere else soon, not to mention the potential for mold and everything, but we’re good for tonight.”

Levi, exhausted beyond the telling of it, slid the damp bandana from his head, not even bothering to ensure he’d properly organized the things relocated from the kitchen to other nearby rooms. None of it was anything that couldn’t wait, and Levi was cold and starving. Just looking out at the darkness through the kitchen windows made him dread checking the time. Definitely long past when he should have eaten, though, going by the hollow ache in his gut.

A deep sigh drew Levi’s attention away from the thought of his missed dinner to where Eren was leaning back against the counter, toolbox packed up beside him. Eren’s large hands scrubbed down his face, then pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I. Am so fucking glad I’m not fifteen anymore.”

…what.

Eren flapped one hand loosely in Levi’s direction, at his apparently visible confusion.

“I’ve got a much better handle on my rage issues now than I did back then. I may well have been tempted to literally kill Isabel otherwise.”

“Ahh. Sadly, you wouldn’t have been the first. And, yes, also literally.” Having Isabel for a sister was both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes definitely more one than the other, though it was a crapshoot which way it’d lean at any given time.

“I feel like I shouldn’t ask, but…”

Curiosity, as with most things, looked good on Eren’s face. But Levi could admit—to himself, at least—that he was rather biased in that regard.

“Let’s just say,” he confessed, “neither of us handled our own teenage years well, either.”

As if drawn by their speaking of her, Isabel peered into the kitchen doorway; wary and ready to run, the fan nearest her one more obstacle between them. She wiggled her phone at them with a shaky, tentative smile.

“Pizza’s on the way,” she offered.

Not the best peace offering she’d ever made, but also far from the worst. Though, considering the current state of the kitchen, that did limit her options.

“Thick crust,” he checked.

“Yep.”

“Toppings?”

“One’s your vegetable nightmare thing, there’s my Hawaiian, and,” nervous eyes darted to Eren, “is pepperoni okay with you? Or either of ours, if you prefer, it’s not like the pepperoni’ll go to waste…”

The smile that slid across Eren’s face, warm and tinged with reluctant amusement, had Levi wanting to taste something other than his promised pizza. No matter what the rumbling in his gut tried to say otherwise.

“I’m good with pepperoni.”

“That’s good.” Isabel chewed her lip nervously. “S-sorry, I should’ve checked before ordering if you had any allergies or whatever.”

“It’s fine. I’ll eat most anything, really.”

“Um, do you…want a towel or something? Both of you?”

Levi tried—and failed, yet again—to not glance at the way wet denim clung to Eren’s legs. Definitely one of the few good things about the evening.

“Yeah, that’d be good. I’ve also got a spare change of clothes in my truck, the green duffel bag, if you don’t mind grabbing them…?”

“No, that- that’s cool! I can do that. After I get you two some towels.”

Isabel scurried off, shoes thumping on the old hardwood as she began to run. Levi didn’t have the energy to yell at her to _not_ for once. Plus, if it got him a chance to dry off a bit before hiding away in his room for a momentary freak out—and clean clothes, naturally—over having a meal with Eren, all the better.

Levi was very, very interested in him. Eren was attractive and fascinating and Levi liked the time he got to spend with him; liked _him_ more and more as they got to know one another.

But Levi was also a client; he didn’t want to make Eren uncomfortable. Levi didn’t think he was reading Eren wrong about his own interest, but Eren was also a professional. Even if he _was_ as interested as Levi believed, Eren likely wouldn’t act on it.

So Levi had to control himself and not be a pushy asshole. No matter how he might want to do…something, anything.

### Interlude: Farlan

Though he was excited to answer Izzy’s call, since Farlan’s own schedule had left them with communicating mostly via texts, it didn’t last long. Not with the charged silence on the line. Either she was unwilling or unable to answer him—neither boded pleasant things.

“Iz, I’m starting to really get worried here. At least say something to let me know you’re not dying.”

“…I’m here.”

Farlan sighed, relieved he didn’t need to contact Levi and hope that he was near enough to help immediately. But he knew that voice of Isabel’s; could practically see her in a corner somewhere, knobby knees drawn up and face buried in them, muffling her voice.

“How you doing, Izzy-bell,” he asked gently.

“I fucked up. Even for me.”

Oh, no. “Is anyone dead or dying?”

“No- no, not that kind of fucked up.”

The rueful amusement in her voice was faint, but that it was there at all meant things weren’t as badly off as he’d feared.

“So…just how fucked are things and do you need to get away until Levi calms down?”

“I can’t take off—I already ordered pizza.” It wasn’t a real answer, but said enough for Farlan.

After all, it’d been some time since she last resorted to a pizza apology. Usually she’d bake cookies or a cake. Pie on a really bad one.

“So? Tell me.”

“I, uh. Thought I could deal with a leaky faucet in the kitchen. Turns out, not so much.”

The noise she made was more a broken sob than a laugh, but he wouldn’t call her on it. Though that might explain the move from pie to pizza pie. At least they hadn’t started the remodeling in there, yet, as far as he knew.

“There was a…_lot_ of water. I think Levi might _actually_ have killed me if Eren hadn’t been called in.”

“Eren… His carpenter crush, right?” Of pretty eyes and great thighs and a willingness to sass right back at Levi.

“Yep.”

Farlan really had to get the time off to visit and meet Eren the Carpenter. But unlike Izzy, he wasn’t (in)conveniently fired just before his sibling inherited a fortune.

“Though I didn’t ask what toppings he preferred, I hope what I ordered is okay…”

Definitely needed to meet him, if Isabel was already including the man in her gifts of apology food.

“You should probably check that before it arrives, just in case. He might have dietary restrictions you don’t know about.”

“Yeah, okay. I can do that. They…should be getting close to done in there. I think.” _I hope_, she obviously didn’t say. In any case, having something concrete to do would help her.

“Izzy, this is Levi you’re talking about. Most people would need to worry, but when it comes to you? Since he didn’t retaliate immediately, then he’ll just lash out verbally.” Which, true, could be vicious, but still nothing like the level of physical vengeance Levi dealt in.

Not that Levi had ever intentionally been physically violent toward his sister—barring a couple of times in darker years to _save her life_—beyond irritated pinches or flicks. But after their not-so-innocent youth, all three of them still instinctually reacted to certain things.

And—though she’d never admit it to herself, let alone anyone else—a small part of Isabel still expected to be left behind, the way her shitty old man had. The way the woman who’d birthed her had. But Farlan, Levi, and Kuchel—they all knew, no matter how Izzy had tried to hide it. So he wasn’t as worried as he might be, considering their distance, since she was with Levi.

Even with the distraction of an attractive carpenter, Levi would take care of Isabel.

“You’re…not wrong about that.”

Farlan rolled his eyes. “You could just say I’m right, y’know.”

Her soft huff of laughter had him smiling.

“Why ever would I do that~?”

“Isabel… Do you need me to stay on the line?”

“…no. No, I’ll be okay.”

Reluctant, Farlan made his goodbyes, despite not fully believing her, but he wouldn’t force Isabel to admit otherwise.

Though he’d definitely be texting Levi later, just in case.

### Interregnum: Mikasa

Mikasa had loved the vacation she’d taken in Japan, spending time with her parents and getting to better know the maternal relatives she’d had little to do with growing up. But as the days and weeks passed, despite regular contact, she missed her home. She missed Eren and Armin, and Eren’s stupid cat children.

She even missed breaking up the fights between Armin and Historia.

And hearing how Eren and Armin talked about and around the subject of Levi… It was suspicious as hell.

So when she finally returned home to a lovely little get-together with both of them and the furchild menaces—complete with a series of shitty SyFy movies and good beer—she both was and wasn’t surprised to find out that Eren was pining hard for her murder-faced cousin.

Which, what. _What_.

Everyone who met Mikasa knew that she loved Eren and Armin like the brothers she’d never had; though, honestly, she barely remembered a time without them. And as with most sibling relationships, it had its ups and downs.

Sometimes…quite violently so.

But unlike most times Eren had been interested in anyone, once she got past the initial _?????!!?!_ Mikasa wasn’t sure if she was more angry or more pleased that it was Levi.

Angry because, unlike Eren’s prior datemates, if Levi turned out to actually be batshit crazy—or if it spread via Eren’s dick the way Jean and Connie often speculated—Mikasa wasn’t sure if she’d come out the victor of any such confrontation. For all of her training, Levi was annoyingly strong; not to mention speedy and even more vicious than she.

Pleased, because if it worked out then Eren might _officially_ become a part of her family. And for all she couldn’t get rid of the many (paternal) relatives she _could_ do without, gaining one she’d wholeheartedly welcome would be a happy thing.

After finally getting the chance to observe them together, she was somewhat leaning toward pleased. Somewhat.

But either scenario required the two lovestruck idiots to _get their shit together_. And that didn’t look like it’d be happening any time soon.

Which meant she needed a sounding board to bounce ideas off of—and no one would provide better feedback than Armin.

* * *

“I’ve barely been back a week and already I’m tired of their bullshit.”

Armin would argue, but honestly? He felt similarly. And, though he’d normally object to interfering in others’ romantic relationships in such a manner… It was Eren. And Levi, who, admittedly, Armin didn’t know that well and Mikasa not as well as she probably should.

They were pretty damn obvious about their feelings.

They were also pretty damn annoying, tiptoeing around them.

“Now you see what I’ve been dealing with all this time. Not,” he interrupted, seeing her face brighten, “that I have any real ideas on how to fix it. Eren’s stubborn once he gets an idea in his head.” To say the least.

“…and he does have reason to not get involved with a client,” she grudgingly admitted.

“Exactly.”

Not that it would dissuade Mikasa from interfering, no matter what Armin said. After all-

“I’ll just have to make a plan.”

-it never had before.

“Must you,” he pleaded half-heartedly, knowing it was futile but still having to try.

Mikasa just sent him a telling look.

Armin sighed. He wished he could complain more about his taste in friends, but… There were many reasons why the three of them were so close. And he tried not to be _that_ much of a hypocrite.

“Ugh, fine. Then make your plans so I can start vetoing the worst ones.”

“Thank you, Armin.”

Though he loved Mikasa’s hugs—and had missed them so during her absence—Armin made his disapproval known with a stern frown even as he snuggled in closer, fingers running through her lengthening hair.

### Supply Closet

“What. The ever-loving _fuck_, Mikasa?”

Eren had been on the bad end of Mikasa’s plans over the years; more often than he liked, in fact. It wasn’t even the first time she’d used a form of restraints or captivity on him.

He didn’t like to remember her “mediating” between he and Jean back in high school. The less he thought of that long weekend they’d been chained together, the better.

(Though it’d worked, somewhat. Eren and Jean—whose rage managed to eclipse his then-crush on Mikasa—had been united in their desire for retaliation. And also in their worry over Mikasa deciding to give the process a repeat until it worked.

Many would think doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results, would be insanity. Mikasa called it persistence and dedication.

Unfortunately, it was hard to naysay things when her methods so often worked.)

Luckily, neither he nor Levi were restrained. Though they were pressed _extremely_ close together in the tiny supply closet. Which only locked from the outside. Where Mikasa was waiting to set them free once getting the results she wanted.

Eren idly made a mental note to change the lock type later, once he’d had the chance to vent his considerable rage. There were some walls he needed to take a sledgehammer to; could get started there a bit earlier than planned…

“You know,” Levi’s voice was more threat than even his words, “I will get out of here eventually.”

“I’ll handle that when it happens. Until then, you two deal with your shit and _communicate_. Every fifteen minutes I’ll be back to check on the both of you.”

Eren didn’t even need to hear her retreating footsteps to know she was leaving; Mikasa used truth as her preferred threats to great effect.

“I don’t suppose I can hope you’re claustrophobic or have issues with the dark so she’ll let us out anyway?”

“No,” Levi bit out, shifting minutely.

Which, just. Eren did not need that kind of stimu-

He just didn’t need it, okay.

“Of course not.” If he weren’t pressed right up against Levi—much too close, but also not nearly enough, his traitorous body argued—Eren would slam his head against the wall. Repeatedly.

Times like these, it was hard to remember he loved Mikasa like a sister.

“I hope you realize I’ll be putting an end to her once we’re out.”

“Yeah,” Eren sighed, having expected just that. “Depending on how long we spend in here, I might even help. Though, past experience tells me we won’t succeed.”

“…she’s done this shit before?”

“Not exactly like this, but…yeah.”

“Fucking _wonderful_.”

Eren was pretty curious to know where Levi’s current expression—that, sadly, he couldn’t see as there wasn’t a working bulb in the overhead light—rested on the scary-but-sexy to terrifying scale. He had a feeling the darkness was better both for his psyche and his libido; the last thing Eren needed was for his dick to get hard while already being all up in Levi’s business.

Lack of vision likely wouldn’t deter Levi from swift vengeance.

* * *

As the time passed—much too slowly for Levi’s liking—Mikasa did, indeed, check on them as promised. Once, twice, and…if Levi’s internal clock was accurate, the third wouldn’t be too much longer.

He’d already been warm, pressed so closely to Eren’s body; the man was a fucking _furnace_ and the closet was already too stuffy for that to be comfortable.

Without anything _else_ to distract him, at least. And Levi had been more focused on _not_ being distracted by sexy thoughts, once his immediate rage had cooled into ideas for future, lengthy vengeance. That was already hard- already fucking _difficult_ enough to do while practically being held upright by the wall behind him and Eren in front of him.

Especially since Eren smelled _really fucking good_.

Levi wanted to sink his teeth into all that skin.

…but even more urgently, Levi was starting to need to take a leak. And he doubted Mikasa would either believe him or care if he actually pissed himself. In which case, something would have to give, no matter how they’d been avoiding a real conversation about what had led to their being shunted into a tiny closet.

Otherwise, it’d be his bladder that would give and. Just, _no_.

“So.”

“Hmm?”

“Two things. One, we need to talk. Because, two, I’m gonna need to piss soon enough and have zero intention of doing so here.” Not only was that not his kink, especially non-negotiated, but the _mess_ would just be intolerable.

“…oh. Damn.”

“Yeah.”

“In that case, can I, um. Can we agree that whatever we talk about in here, we’ll deal with once we’re out like rational adults? No matter what we end up saying?”

_Not if you crush this feeling growing inside me_, Levi didn’t say, pessimist that he was.

“Agreed. So. You…know why, exactly, Mikasa did this to us.” It seemed obvious to Levi, but who knew; maybe he’d luck out and it’d be something else completely.

“The, uh. This. _Thing_ between us. Not that there is really a thing, since we’ve never talked about it, but. Uh. _Fuck_.”

Then again, his luck always had been pretty shit. Time to rip off that bandage, he supposed.

“I like you, you like me; we totally wanna bone. And maybe date. That whole thing?”

“Yes. _That_.”

“But I’m a client.” Which was the major reason _why_ he’d never said anything.

“And I don’t get involved with clients. But…”

Levi could feel Eren’s shrug.

“It’s you. And I’ve already gotten closer even as a friend than I should have, considering.”

“True.” The war between hope and despair was fucking unpleasant to say the least.

“I’d like there to be more. But if that’s not what you want, then it’s. It’ll be fine; your friendship already means a lot to me.”

It sure as hell wouldn’t be _fine_, shit as he could be about feelings, Levi knew that much. Eventually, sure, with the friendship they were building, but not any time soon. And…Levi, too, didn’t want to lose that even if things didn’t work out between them romantically.

“So we take it slow. Do all that talking and shit and step back if we need to.”

“Oh-kay.”

The break in Eren’s voice was something Levi would think more closely on later. Right now, he could hear the steady stride of Mikasa’s steps as she approached.

“Good. We’ll talk in depth later. Now fucking _let us out_, Mikasa.”

“If you try to sidestep that discussion later, I will do this again.”

“We fucking _know_, but right now I’m about to piss myself and you _will_ pay if that happens.”

“Understood.”

If he had the time, Levi would remove that smirk he could hear from her face. Instead, as the door opened and he began to blink at the sudden light-

Levi dug his fingers into Eren’s hips, moving them out of the closet as quickly as he could. At Eren’s wide-eyed look of shock, he made a note to repeat the maneuver under much more pleasant circumstances.

Later.

“You will seriously fucking _pay_,” he hissed at Mikasa, running in the direction of the nearest bathroom.

Oh, yes. Vengeance would be _his_.

…and, just maybe, so would Eren.

### Epilogue: Kuchel

Kuchel had expected a lot of things out of visiting her son’s now partially restored mansion. For it to hopefully be less overtly Murder House and more enjoyably creepy at the least, if not actually inviting…in a sinister way, of course.

Considering both what they were working with and the size, homey simply was not happening.

She had even expected Isabel to greet her at the airport with a sign—MAMA, in big, neon letters. (Thankfully, Levi had vetoed the rainbow glitter.)

Her son’s new boyfriend? Not so much.

“Izzy, my sweet?”

Eyes firmly on the road as she’d been taught, Isabel trilled, “Yes~?”

“How did your,” uselessly gay, “brother manage to actually land a man in the less than twenty-four hours since we last spoke?”

“Honestly? Mikasa finally got fed up and wasn’t having it any longer.”

“Of course she did.” At least that made more sense than Levi having finally done more than pine like a romance novel heroine.

“Though neither of them will actually call each other that. They’re ‘being careful’ and ‘taking it slow’ and ‘not wanting to fuck up our friendship so zip it, Iz.’ So, yeahhh.”

Despite her daughter’s obvious disdain—which, it would be hilarious seeing Isabel’s reaction once she finally figured out Farlan’s feelings, considering—that actually reassured Kuchel. She wanted her son to be happy and if that included a partner, that was all well and good. But Levi didn’t have a lot of close friendships and she didn’t want him to lose out on that by rushing into something.

Not that she had any place to talk there, really; Kuchel was good at her work and was even better as a mother, but she’d never been good at judging the men she dated. Which was why she’d rarely bothered trying, after Izzy’s father.

* * *

Once they pulled into the driveway, Kuchel was pleased to see the lack of overt menace. Still not particularly welcoming, but it had potential.

Before she even had the chance to stretch her legs, Levi had wrapped his arms around her tightly. She returned his hug; surprised, but pleased. He didn’t often initiate that sort of thing. About to remark on that, a black-furred tail wound itself around part of Levi’s face.

“Mr_rr_.”

“Ah. This would be Missy, then.” Kuchel let the cat sniff her hand before scritching between adorable triangle ears.

“Yeah. It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you, too, sweetie.” She pecked him on the cheek before smiling widely at the tall figure approaching more sedately with an orange-furred monstrosity in his arms. “Hello, Eren, it’s lovely to meet you. And Mac,” she cooed toward the older cat.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Eren greeted with a smile, both pleased and awkward; just as she’d been told.

Also just as attractive as she’d been told. And considering she’d been subjected to numerous calls and Skype sessions about the subject of Levi’s affections, that said something.

Taking Mac from Eren’s arms as Isabel stole Missy, she watched as he and Levi grabbed her bags; how comfortable they were in each other’s space and the soft, glowing looks they exchanged.

Kuchel would keep an eye on things, but she had a good feeling. They might be taking things slow, but for all romance had never worked out for her, she knew people between whom it had. She recognized those looks.

Her smile brightened as she listened to her children bicker, Eren taking charge of the luggage Levi had dropped to chase after his sister the way they’d never grown out of.

Much as she might have cursed him over the years, Kuchel was glad that Kenny had done one last good thing and brought Eren into Levi’s life.

She’d pour one out for him later, in remembrance.

In the meantime, she had a potential future son-in-law to get to know. And grandcats to love on.


End file.
